Jaime Hunt, Old Dominion University’s vice president of communications and chief marketing officer, has been selected to join the 2023-2024 cohort of fellows for the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership (AIHEL), a partnership between Arizona State University and Georgetown University.
This recognition places Hunt among 24 leaders for this year’s cohort, and she is the first ODU fellow in the history of the program. The eight-month program kicked off in September.
“It's a privilege to join this year's group of distinguished fellows,” Hunt said. “Throughout my career, I've been driven by a commitment to transformation and innovation. This fellowship offers a valuable chance for me to further hone skills and discover ways I can play a pivotal role in ushering in transformative shifts for the future of higher education.”
The Academy, now in its 11th year, brings together higher education professionals with experience in academic affairs, student affairs, research and more, representing both private and public institutions. This year, the group will collaborate to address evolving challenges in the field and develop their leadership capabilities.
In a statement, the academy emphasized the value of diversity among the fellows: "Innovation requires expansive thinking and the inclusion of diverse thoughts and actions. We intentionally build a cohort to include many voices, maximize our understanding of the complexity of higher education, expand our perspectives on innovation, and create a community in which each of you have a sense of belonging and connectedness."
The program aims to prepare the next generation of leaders to navigate the evolving higher education landscape. Participants are challenged to question their beliefs and assumptions about what is possible in higher education, both today and in the future.
During the eight-month program, Hunt will be guided by cohort co-directors Kim D'Abreu and Darcie Milazzo, both accomplished leaders with extensive experience in higher education leadership and innovation.
Hunt's career in the communications industry spans more than 25 years, beginning in print journalism and transitioning to higher education nearly two decades ago. Before coming to ODU in 2022, Hunt served as vice president and chief communications and marketing officer at Miami University in Ohio. Prior to that, she was vice chancellor of strategic communications and chief marketing and communications officer at Winston-Salem State University. She also served in public relations, marketing, digital strategy and media relations leadership roles at Radford University, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Northwestern Health Sciences University.
She has written columns regularly for VoltEDU, Inside Higher Ed and Forbes, and hosts a podcast, "Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO," on the Enrollify network.
For more information about the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership and its programs, please visit georgetown.asu.edu/programs.